International Longshoremen Association members continue their strike in ports nationwide from Maine to Texas. The walkout may have significant consequences and disrupt America’s economy in a way that has not been witnessed since 1977.
The standoff with the United States Maritime Alliance threatens to interrupt the flow of goods, including agricultural imports and exports.
“Over $5 billion of wine comes through those ports every year — 70% of our wine imports, most of our wine and whiskey imports, some of our roasted coffee,” said Danny Munch, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Retailers rushed to assemble stock for the holidays. However, if the strike is prolonged, it will delay the processing of goods well into next year, heavily affecting supply chains and increasing costs.